After Connor's murder, details of Jamarion's home life came to light including past CPS involvement in the family's life. Child neglect and abuse reports were substantiated against both Lawhorn and Harrold which, in 2013, led to his being placed with his father in New York. This spring Jamarion returned to Michigan for what was intended to be a short visit with his mother, and he remained there until August when police took him into custody.
Now Lawhorn and Harrold have each been charged with one count of third and fourth-degree child abuse. Lawhorn's other children were removed from their care and are staying with relatives. They are allowed only supervised visits with the children until the court can evaluate their progress. Currently they are cooperating with authorities and getting counseling.
I'm going to go off the Reservation of Objectivity here and say that, as another Grand Rapids parent of a young boy, I think these people should be charged, imprisoned, sterilized, and never allowed near their children, or any children, again. CPS deemed their home entirely unsatisfactory. Utilities were off, the rent overdue, the beds lacked bedding, food in the house was scarce, and drug paraphernalia was present in the bathroom. Additionally, Jamarion had bruises all over his body he said his stepfather gave him, and he was being threatened daily with more beatings. Lawhorn and Harrold also neglected to get him the psychological help recommended for his "significant behavioral issues."
While I believe in human self-determination, it hard to think that, given Jamarion's extreme youth, Connor's murder wasn't the fault of these two. This is not the first proven instance of abusive parenting either. Anita Lawhorn lost custody of two other children in 1996.
I don't care what kind of "progress" these two are making, they should be arrested, thrown into jail, denied bail until their trial, then put away forever. It's too bad we don't have the death penalty in Michigan. They're horrible people and awful parents. They created a killer. No doubt their other children have been abused and neglected as well.
Children should have the right to be cared for by capable, nurturing adults. Despite the impression given by ad campaigns, it's actually a long, tedious process to become a foster or adoptive parent in Michigan. It takes hours of training, and the bureaucracy goes through your life with a fine toothed comb. And then, when you actually have foster children in your home, your life is subject to endless regulation and check ups by the state and you're on the leash of the preferences of your foster children's biological parents and family (so that someday they can be reunited with their proven abusers). It's a bit shocking that the system prioritizes this - micromanaging foster parents - when children all over the city and state are living in filth and danger, uncared for and abused, and ample evidence has presented itself to authorities in any number of cases.
While Jamarion is an outlier because of his age and his chosen method of killing, he is certainly not alone in his despair and rage. How can we sufficiently punish and shame this kind of abuse enough to send a message to others that this kind of abuse is not acceptable and will not be allowed to continue? It seems like with all of its blessings, West Michigan should have the kinds of resources to make real change in the lives of these kids and prevent more violence in the future. How can we do that?
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